Nuggets hold off Knicks behind Anthony's 29 points

Apr 1, 2009 - 4:55 AM
DENVER (AP) -- The obituaries were written on the Denver Nuggets
before their season even began, and it's easy to see why: Marcus
Camby traded for nobody, just salary cap relief. Eduardo Najera
leaving in free agency.

Then a blockbuster trade brought Chauncey Billups home to Denver
a week into the season and rid the Nuggets of Allen Iverson's
big contract. Nene and Kenyon Martin put together their
healthiest seasons in years. Prodded by coach George Karl,
superstar Carmelo Anthony instilled the defensive dogma in
Denver that put a gold medal around his neck in Beijing, and
Chris Andersen fell into their laps and hearts.

Hours before the calendar even turned to April, the Nuggets
weren't just alive and kicking but playoff-bound, clinching a
spot in the postseason party with a 111-104 win over the New
York Knicks on Tuesday night.

"It means a lot," Billups said. "I never take that for granted.
No matter how successful you've been in the playoffs or how much
success you've had, you never take that for granted. Because I
can still remember the days when I was just dreaming about being
in the playoffs.

"But we've got bigger goals than just making the playoffs."

Just making the playoffs wasn't even something most observers
predicted six months ago.

Fueling this win were Anthony's 29 points, Nene's 18 points and
12 boards, and Kenyon Martin's jumpers in crunch time, all of
which helped Denver hold off the Knicks after blowing most of a
27-point second-quarter lead.

"Making the playoffs this early is a compliment to a lot of our
veterans," Karl said. "Not a lot of people were believing in us
coming into the season, and I think we rallied together and
(are) on the verge of a special regular season and then
hopefully get over the hump on the playoffs."

The Nuggets' win, coupled with San Antonio's 96-95 loss to
Oklahoma City, moved Denver into the No. 2 spot in the Western
Conference heading into the final two weeks of the season.

"As you can see, there's really no easy games right now,"
Billups said. "You look at the San Antonio game, you look at
this game. We're up 27 and end up having to really play to win
the game. Those are the most dangerous games out there. You
can't let your guard down against really good teams, but when
you play teams that aren't really playing for anything, those
are tough, tough games."

Denver's 49-26 record is its best 73-game mark since joining the
NBA in 1976. The Nuggets clinched a playoff spot for the sixth
straight season. Only Dallas, Detroit and San Antonio have also
made the playoffs every year since 2003-04.

Still, the Nuggets aren't celebrating just yet.

"We're excited about clinching," Anthony said. "At least we know
we are in the playoffs, that's a good sign. We still have games
to go and win. Two losses back-to-back will put you in the
eighth spot. That's tough, that's tough right now. I'm happy
with the way we're playing, I'm happy we clinched, I'm happy
we're in the playoffs. But we still want that home court."

In each of his first five seasons, the Nuggets went on the road
to start the playoffs and were first-round fodder every time.

Denver has won nine of 10 and New York has lost nine of 10, so a
mismatch was expected, and the Nuggets obliged by racing out to
a 62-35 led with five minutes left in the first half.

That's when they got lackadaisical, and the Knicks, who were led
by Nate Robinson's 30 points, got hot.

The Knicks used a 26-3 spurt spanning halftime to pull to 65-61
and make a game of it.

Billups said his teammates gathered around, look each other in
the eyes and said, "All right, it's time to buckle down. That's
enough."

"Chauncey is a great leader on that team, and he's taking them
to higher limits," Robinson said. "It's shown. Ever since he got
traded, they've been playing great basketball. They're a team to
be reckoned with in the West."

The feisty, short-handed Knicks pulled to 80-77 on Wilson
Chandler's jumper with 1:19 left in the third quarter, but that
was as close as the Knicks could get as the Nuggets scored the
next 14 points.

The Knicks played without guard Larry Hughes (ankle), swingman
Quentin Richardson (ankle) and center Eddy Curry (knee), and the
Nuggets led 65-52 at halftime.

"We dug ourselves a way big hole," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni
said. "The good thing, they fought back. We only had seven guys
available. We played hard. We didn't make the biggest plays on
that court, they did."